I am currently listening to Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, author and narrator. It is calming my stress over the condition of the world, both by content and by the author's voice. A series of essays about our relationship with our environment in which Kimmerer, as both botanist and indigenous woman, blends science and mythos and encourages us to rethink our relationship with the earth.
Of course, I've been reading lots of mysteries as well, and I love the escape from reality that all kinds of fiction offer.
Garden: We've had plenty of rain in the last couple of days and surely the plants have appreciated it, but the heat and humidity and heat advisories are returning today. I've given up fighting weeds. 
milkweed
obedient plant, also known as false dragonhead--
beautiful, but invasive.
Mail:
Incoming
I'd forgotten that I'd send some self-addressed stickers to B.E.,
but evidently, she found them again and used one on this letter.
And it was such a great letter! Two pages and a third page of
small photos, with her new shelf arrangements
and movie recommendations.
Oh, and photos of Prim Paws, Gucci, and Lily Pad, her dangerous triad of cats. 
Lilly Pad
Bryce Eleanor discussed her summer reading--one book she said was tolerable, but she really enjoyed I Will Always Write Back, a true story of pen pal assignment for middle schoolers that changed the lives of two students. Of course, I've ordered this one for myself! I mean, how could I resist another book about letter writers?
Outgoing
to Marc and Debbie
We are exchanging seeds.
Our exchanges are usually through emails,
but this time, a letter is in order.
Still using the old envelopes Connie sent me to write letters on.
I love Braiding Sweet grass. It's the kind of work that changes your perceptions of nature and our relationship to it. I love her generosity in allowing us into her heritages and traditions as a native American as well as her academic knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI've found it soothing in the midst of the uproar of bad news to listen to Kimmerer's gentle voice and perspective on nature and science. Yes, the combination of native American traditions and scientific knowledge are a comforting way examine at our relationship with the world. :)
DeleteI love the gentle scent of sweet grass. The essays will make a chilly winter afternoon brighter.
ReplyDeleteThe essays are thoughtful and interesting, and like all essays, can be read or listened to and put down as each one is finished, while you let them settle in. They have been providing a nice respite from the news.
DeleteI have to agree with you - I'm ready to say goodbye to August!
ReplyDeleteThose flowers and kitties are pretty gorgeous. Thanks for brightening my Saturday as we await Hurricane Henri.
Batten down the hatches, Diane, and be safe!
DeleteI'm so heartened that you said you were giving up on the weeds! That's how I have felt this past month. But slowly I do have to rip them out and even do some transplanting of things that are busting their borders! Always love the mail art. The cats are too cute!
ReplyDeleteGiving up in the sense that I can't keep up and have to admit it. Yes, I keep weeding, but it is more the result of an occasional duty than hope. With heat indexes ranging from 104-110, it is a matter of how long I can stand it before giving up. Yesterday, I just threw them on the path and haven't even cleaned them up!
DeleteActually, I could do with things slowing down...
ReplyDelete:) A matter of perspective and location! "I'm done with summer and ready for cooler weather," she says, as she wipes the sweat from her brow and scratches the latest mosquito bite.
DeleteB.E. definitely knows how to write a fun letter and with photos is a grand bonus. Flowers and plants really LOVED all the massive rains for days. I really love your sweet drawings over the old envelopes. Hahaha...the mail carrier is funny. It really isn’t surprising that occasionally mail goes astray. It’s a massive system these days with an ongrowing population of people. Overall, they do a great job of it.
ReplyDeleteB.E. does write great letters! The mail carriers do a good job in our neighborhood, and I'm grateful that here in the Sweaty South, they are willing to drive around without ac and deliver mail. :)
DeleteCoincidentally, I bought the book, Braiding Sweetgrass, when we were in Colorado. Just saw in the book store and got it. I haven't opened it yet and I had never heard of it. I liked the title. It reminded me the Chris LeDoux song, The Buffalo Grass. Just the titles. I loved how BE involves you in her life through her letters.
ReplyDeleteIt is a long book! The audiobook is 16 hours! I'm finally down to about two hours left after nearly 3 weeks; it isn't a book (or audiobook) that you read/listen to straight through. It is a perfect for going through a few essays at a time. "The Buffalo Grass" works beautifully--thanks for the reminder, I love Chris LeDoux. Kimmerer is all about the original grasses and plants.
ReplyDelete